(Rus) For long-distance Nickel operations the Whitley squadrons used a forward base in France. On 30 November 1939 Flying Officer (Fg Off) G. E. Saddington and crew flew N1357/KN:H to Villeneuve to refuel and then carry out a sortie, returning directly to home base at Driffield. These sorties proved bitterly cold for crew members, particularly the rear gunner, who often wore a fur-lined apron. This Whitley was lost after a Nickel flight over the Ruhr on 28 March 1940 when Fg Off Geach and crew trespassed over neutral Holland and the bomber was shot down by a Dutch fighter. Sgt Miller was killed, the rest of the crew interned. (IWM C496)